Xedward f flicek



(No Model.)

B. PLIOEK.

SHOULDER BRAGE.

N0. 586,842. Patented July 20, 1897.

UNiTnD STATES PATENT OFFICE,

'EDIVARD FLICEK, OF CHICAGO, ILLINOIS, ASSIGNOR OF ONE-HALF TO JOHN FLICEK, OF SAME PLACE.

SHOULDER-BRACE.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 586,842, dated July 20, 1897. Application filed December '7, 1896. Serial No. 614,715. (No model.)

To all whom it nmy concern:

Be it known that I, EDWARD FLICEK, a citi- Zen of the United States, residing at Chicago, in the county of Cook and State of Illinois, have invented certain new and useful I111- proveinents in Shoulder-Braces, of which the following is a specification, reference being had to the accompanying drawings, which are made a part hereof, and in which Figure 1 is a perspective view of a shoulder-brace embodying the invention. Fig. 2 is an elevation, on a somewhat larger scale, of the spring which is incorporated in and forms a part of the brace.

The invention consists in the features of novelty that are hereinafter described.

A A are a pair of shoulder-loops, each of which is made up of two straps to a, both of which are preferably permanently united at a, and one of which, a, is provided at its front end with a clasp B, through which the other, a, passes adj ustably, the lower end of the strap cc terminatingin a Suspender-strap C, which latter is itself adjustable by a sliding clasp I) of any suitable construction. At back both sides of each of these two loops A are secured to the upper end of one of the two branches of a spring E, to the lower end of which spring the back suspender-strap F is secured, said strap being in itself adjustable by means of an adjustable clamp fof any suitable construction.

The spring E is constructed of a piece of spring-wire coiled at its middle to form an eye 6, from which the two branches e of the wire proceed upward, crossing each other at the point e, whence they diverge to the points 6 at which points they are bent slightly, resultingin converging portions 6 above which the wire is again bent or doubled upon itself to form dependingportions e, which are practically parallel with each other, and below which the wire is again doubled upon itself, so as to form upwardly-extendingportions 6 the portions c 0, and c unitingto form eyes through which the straps of the loops A are passed, said loops being preferably ermanently secured therein by stitching, as indicated by dotted lines in Fig. 1. I prefer to construct this spring precisely in the manner above described and as shown in the drawings, but I desire to have it understood that in its broadest aspect the invention is not limited thereto, but, on the contrary, comprehends a spring of any construction that affords at the lower end means for attaching thereto aback Suspender-strap and which has two substantially upright yielding branches proceeding upward from the back suspenderstrap to a point approximately between the shoulder-blades, each of said branches having both sides of one of the two shoulderloops attached to its upper end substantially as already described, so that when the shoulders are thrown forward, carrying the loops with them, the upper portions of the two branches of the spring will yield, as indicated by dotted lines in Fig. 2, the recoil of the spring tending constantly to draw the shoulders back.

\Vhat I claim as new, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is

l. A shoulder-brace, having, in combination, a back Suspender-strap, a spring to which said strap is secured, whence the spring proceeds upward in the form of two substantially upright yielding branches which terminate at a point approximately between the shoulder-blades, and apair of shoulder-loops, both sides of each loop being secured to the upper end of one, and only one, of the branches of the spring, so that when the loops are drawn apart the two branches of the spring willbe deflected laterally, substantially as set forth.

2. A shoulder-brace, having, in combination, a back Suspender-strap, a spring to which said strap is secured, whence the spring proceeds upward, in the form of two substantially upright yielding branches which cross each other and terminate at a point approximately between the shoulder-blades, and a pair of shoulder-loops, both sides of each loop being secured to the upper end of one, and only one, of the branches of the spring, so that when the loops are drawn apart the two branches of the spring yield laterally, substantially as set forth.

A shouldenbracc, having, in combination, a pair of independent shoulder-loops, a back suspender-strap, and a spring through the medium of which said loops and strap are connected, said spring being formed of a sin gle piece of wire bent at its middle to form an eye to which the back suspender-strap is secured, whence it proceeds upward in the form of two substantially upright yielding branches which cross each other above said eye and terminate at a point approximately between the shoulder-blades, both sides of each shoulder-loop being secured to the upper end of one and only one of the branches T0 of the spring, so that when the shoulderloops are drawn apart the two branches of the spring will yield laterally, substantially as set forth.

EDVARD FLIOEK. WVitnesses:

L. M. HoPKINs, 1. (Ross. 

